Stereotype-finishing apparatus



C. E. HOPKINS.

STEREOTYPE FINISHING APPARATUS. 7 APPLICATION FILED NOV. I2. I915.RENEWED MAY 21. I919. 1,354,751. Patented 001s. 5,1920.

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C. E. HOPKINS.

STEREOTYPE FINISHING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1915. RENEWEDMAY 21,1919.

1,354,751. Patented 00h 5,1920.

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c. E. HOPKINS. STEREOTYPE FINISHING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV-12, I915. RENEWED MAY 2], I9I9.

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Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

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c. E. HOPKINS;

SfEREOTYPE FINISHING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV-I2,19l5. RENEWEDMAY 21, I919.

1,354,751. Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

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C. E. HOPKINS.

STEREOTYPE FINISHING APPARATUS.- APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1915.RENEWED MAY 21,1919.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

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PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EDXVARD HOPKINS, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

STEREOTYPE-FI'NISHING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

Original application filed April 26, 1809, Serial No. 492,108. Divided.and this application filed November 12, 1915, Serial No. 61,025. RenewedMay 21, 1919. Serial No. 298,789.

To all to 710m it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES E. HOPKINS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Plainfield, county of Union,State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Stereotype-FinishingApparatus of which the following is a specification.

This is a division of my patent on stereotype apparatus, No. 1,160,985patented November 16, 1915, on 'an application filed April 26, 1909,Serial No. 92,108.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine for finishing curvedstereotype plates in a minimum of time and with a minimum of labor. Theimprovements have been devised largely with the idea of providing anapparatus which may be operated at a considerable speed by one man totrim, shave and cool the stereotype plates so that they may be quicklyfinished and made available at once for attachment to the ordinarynewspaper web perfecting printing presses.

The apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings is an embodiment of theinvention which has been designed particularly for use in printingplants of second class newspapers where the saving of labor is importantand where economy'oi' time is necessary. This apparatus, alsO, isadapted to be operated in conjunction with any melting pot and pump andthat may already be installed on the premises. Referring to this machineand to the accompanying drawings.

gure 1 is a plan view of the machine;

2 is a view in side elevation with the speed reducing gearing insection;

Fig. 3 is a view in central longitudinal section;

4: is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism is view partly insection and elevation, of the iinishing and coolnism;

- is a sectional detail view of the tinindicated by V (l6 ot' Fig. 3; isalso a detai ing porion of a in l sized stereotype plate bein uned and aportion of the holding means:

Fig S is a detail view in elevation showing stereotype positioned uponthe halfcylinder support or horse of the finislnng mechanism;

i sectional view show- Fig. 9 is a similar view after the horse has madea onehalf revolution;

Fig. 10 is a similar view after the horse has completed one revolution;

Fig. 11 is a similar view showing the horse after it has made arevolution and a half;

Fig. 12 is a view showing the horse in section and the trimmingmechanism taken upon a plane indicated by the line 1212 in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 13 is also a detail view of a section taken partly on the planeindicated by the line 13-13 in Fig. 3, and also showing the startinglever and holding means 96 and 97.

In the present machine, the back 10 is supported in an upright positionat the rear end of the frame 11 to which it is securely fixed. Directlyin front of the concave side of the back is the core 12 which issupported upon rockers 18 movable back and forth upon tracks 1& providedin the frame, and for the purpose of rocking said core from a horizontalposition to a vertical position and back again, a handle 15 is securedto the core at one side thereof and near what may be referred to as thetop end of the core. The object of thus rocking the core is to form withthe back a chamber in which a curved stereotype plate may be cast from amatrix heldin said chamber and which core with the plate and matrix maybe withdrawn from the back and be moved from a vertical to horizontalposition.

Movable upon studs fixed along each of the straight sides of the coreare straight bars or lifters 30 which assist in forming the straightside walls or closures of the casting chamber. Cooperating with the sidebars 30 are members 31 mounted upon the ends of a cross-shaft 20 whichpasses through the cross-brace 19. These members 31 can turn on theshaft suiliciently to engage the under side edges of the side bars 30when the core is rocked about midway between its two limiting positions.The shaft 20 and members 31 occupy such aposition relative to the track14C, rockers 13 and side bars 30 that upon the turning of the core awayfrom the back to its horizontal position the members 31 engage the sidebars about midway of the movement, and during the latter part of theturning movement the side bars 30 in engagement with the members 31 willbe caused to move relatively to the core. This motion is suflicient toseparate the stereotype plate and matrix from the core so as to cause itto be supported above the same by the bars or members 31 and free itfrom the core. On the member 31 is a stop-pin 32 and fixed to the shaft20 is a stop-pin 33. During the motion of the member 31 these come intocontact so as to limit'the move ment of, this'member. Near the top ofthe core and pivoted to one of the side bars is a small flexible band ortail piece 37. The

free end of this is provided with a catch stripped from the plate inthis position and the plate has been released by the unfastening of thetail piece or band 37, it is slid longitudinally by the operator upon asup- 7 port or horse 73, which is in alinement with the core while thelatter is in its horizontal position. The plate is positioned upon thehorse by having a lug 69 cast therein which, when the plate has reachedits proper position upon the horse, abuts against an adjustable stop 94.This is adjusted by a head 65 on the screw on which the stop is mounted;The horse is semi-cylindrical in shape and is rotatable about a shaft72, the rotation of the horse being adapted to transfer the platetherefrom to a stationary concave bed 71 directly underneath the horseand of a length equal to the type face of the stereotype. While in thisbed, the s'treotype is finished by being trimmed and shaved.

' For the purpose of transferring the stereotype from the horse to thebed, Figs. 8 to 11, one edge of the horse is provided [with movablefingers 76 which when closed are flush with the cylindrical face of thehorse but when in operation protrude sufficiently to engage the edge ofthe stereotype thereupon. In this way,when a stereotype is placed upon ahorse and the horse is revolved, the fingers during the first halfrevolution of the horse are kept in engage ment with the plate .by aspring but at the end of the first half revolution the fingers 7 6 arewithdrawn against the action of the spring by means of a cam 81. At thesame time that the fingers are withdrawn, or substantially the sametime, a spring operated stop 83 along one edge of the bed is allowed tomove into operative position by-a cam 82 and 'thus serves to check thefurther rotationof the stereotype plate which by this time is restingupon the bed,'the horse, however, continuing upon its second halfrevolution. During this second half revolution of the horse and whilethe plate is resting upon the bed the plate is shaved and trimmed by aknife 74 and a saw 84 respectively. The knife 74, which is of a lengthequal to the finished plate, is positioned so as to engage and slideupon the ribs of the plate, being secured to the shaft 72 of the horse.A brush 75 also secured to the same shaft, follows the knife and brushesout the interior of the stereotype after it has been shaved. The saw 84is carried upon one end of ashaft 86 journaled'in a segmental extension85 of the horse and is driven at high speed through sprockets 87 and 88which are. connected by a sprocket chain and the latter of which is adouble sprocket and is mountedfreely upon the shaft 72 so as to bedriven from a sprocket 89 fast to the driving shaft. It will thus beseen that the saw 84, is drivenindepenc'lently of the horse but moveswith the horse so as to cut off the riser portion of the plate. FromFigs. 9 and 10 it will be seen that the plate is trimmed during thesecond half revolution of the horse and that during this half revolutionthe extension 85, (Figs. 2, 3 and 8) whichis about a quadrant in width,forms a support for the riser portion of the stereotype as it is beingseparated from the type face portion of the plate and thusrpre-vents thesevered portion from twisting or bending the plate on account of itsunsupported weight.- From Fig. 11 it will be seen that upon thecommencement of the fourth half revolution of the horse, the fingers 76upon one edge of the horse will again be caused to protrude through theaction of a spring under the control of the cam 81 and will engage oneof the straight edges of the stereo type plate, and that simultaneouslythestop 83 along-one edgeof the bed will be moved back out of the pathof the plate through the cam '82. The continued rotation of the horsetherefore will now remove the plate from the bed and at the end of thesecond complete "revolution of the horse the plate will again rest uponthe horse and the latter willbe in the position from which it startedwhere it will be checked through the operation of a clutch presently tobe explained.

It should be noted that while the plate is resting in the bed and isbein operated upon by the shaving knife and trimming saw, theedge 91 ofa fiat plate 90 which serves as a holding means (Fig. 7) moves in agroove formed between two ribs 68 cast in the-concave side of thestereotype by grooves '(Fig. 3) inthe core, such plate being held in thegroove by springs. In this way the plate is maintained in the properposition during the finishing and is also held firmly down upon the bed.

The cams 81 and 82 are fixed to'a gear 7 8 (Fig. 8) which is freelymounted upon the shaft 72 and is in mesh with a gear 80 fast to a gear79 which latter gear is in mesh with a gear 77 fast to the shaft 72.This arrangement is such that the cams 81 and 82 will revolve but onceduring two revolutions of the horse.

The shaft 72 is driven from the main driving shaft of the apparatusthrough the interposition of reduction gearing whereby a reduced speedis obtained for the horse without the loss of power which accompaniesthe use of worm gearing which is ordinarily provided for this purpose.This reduction gearing (Fig. 3) comprises a gear 101 operating looselyupon the shaft 72, a gear 108 coaxial therewith but fixed from rotation,as by being secured to the casing of the gearing, and a pinion 106-107divided as shown so as to mesh with both gears and be carried by a crankarm 105 secured to a short shaft 104: journaled in one end of the shaft72 and in the gear casing. This short shaft 1041 is driven by a sprocket103 connecting with the driving shaft 102 of the machine and causes thecrank arm to revolve and carry the pinion 106107 around the gears 101and 108. As one of these gears 108 has a larger number of teeth than theother gear 101, each revolution of the crank arm 105 will cause the gear101 to be advanced by as many teeth as are rep resented by thedifference between the number of teeth between the gear 108 and the gear101. In this way, it will be seen that the speed of the gear 101 can bemade as slow as desired.

The gear 101 is made to drive the horse 73 and its shaft 72 through theinterposition of a clutch which is shown clearest in Fig. 18. In thisfigure the shaft 72 will be seen to be provided with an arm 100 which isfast to said shaft and which has pivoted thereto a clutch pawl 99adaptedto engage with one of a series of notches cut into the interiorface of the rim of the gear 101. Normally the pawl 99 is lifted-by onearm of a clutch lever 98 so that the gear 101 revolves freely withoutmoving the shaft 72. When however the operator has moved a stereotypeplate on the horse and is ready to start the finishing device inoperation, he lifts the handle 95 of the starting lever and therebydisengages the end of the pawl 99 from the arm 98 of the starting leverand permits said pawl to engage in one of the notches in the rim of thegear 101. This starts the horse rotating and the finishing devices inoperation. The starting lever is provided with a hook 96 which, whilethe finishing devices are in operation, rides upon the face of a cam 97.This cam is secured to a gear which meshes with the gear 80 and isrotated once for every two revolutions of the horse. It is also providedwith a notch which the hook 96 is adapted to engage, and when in therevolution of the cam 97, the hook 96 drops into the notch, it permitsthe starting lever to return to its first position and the arm 98 tocheck the movement of the pawl 99 by moving in the path thereof andthereby cause a disengagement from the notch in the gear 101 with whichit is in engagement. The hook 96 also serves as a means for locking thecam 97 which has a geared connection to the horse and thereby looks orholds the horse in the desired position. Thus, as is obvious, thefurther revolution of the horse will be checked, and it will be seenthat due to the mechanism just described the horse will turn through twocomplete revolutions each time the clutch is operated by the startinglever 95.

After the plate has been operated upon by the finishing means and thehorse has returned to its first position with the plate thereon, it isthen lifted by manually operated transfer means from the horse anddeposited on a semi-cylindrical support 121 constituting a part of thecooling means. This transfer means includes two uprights 109 and 110 atone side of the horse 73, and between these uprights there is pivoted acarrying frame 111 operated by a lever 112 having depending springfingers 11% provided with beveled ends 115 and notches 116 near saidends. These fingers are pivoted upon a shaft 113 where they are slidablealong the shaft under the action of their springs and said shaft isprovided with a crank arm 117 which is connected by a link 119 with anextension 118 upon the upright 110, the object of which is to keep thearms 11% always vertical as the frame swings from one side of theuprights to the other. The horse is provided with recesses 120 intowhich the beveled ends of the arms 114 can enter so that after thestereotype has been finished, the operator, by turning the operatinglever 112 may force the bevels of the arms 11% down over the bevel ofthe finished stereotype and into the recesses 120 of the horse. Thiscauses the arms to separate against the action of their springs and afurther movement pushes the arms down far enough to cause the notches116 to engage upon the ends of the stereotype. Then the operatorreverses the movement of the transfer lever 112 thus lifting thestereotype from the horse and deposits it upon the support 121 of thecooling mechanism which is located beside the horse. This support isslightly longer than the stereotype and therefore when the stereotype islowered upon this support the bevels of the arms 114- engage the ends ofthe support and cause the arms to be forced outwardly against the actionof their springs and the plate to be disengaged from the notches i thehorse.

116 after which the frame 111 is raised through the action of itscounterbalance spring126attached to one end of an arm 12?. A valve 122of the cooling mechanism is depressed by the plate, upon the latter be Iing deposited upon the support 121, and

through a groove against the stereotype plate, flushing and cooling thesame, the water thereafter being carried away by a pipe 125 which leadsfrom a trough for the cooling water located underneath the sup port 121.

After the plate has been cast the operator 1 grasps the handle 15 androcks the core forward up into the position shown in Fig. 2 wlth theplate and matrix thereon. During this turning movement of the core theplate lifters 30 engage the members 31,

which forces the lifters 30 to rise over the straight edges of the coreand push the stereotype plate free from its periphery, as shown in Fig.3. The tail piece 37 is then loosened by hand and swung up to one side,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The plate is then moved by hand over on thehorse 73 until the projection 69, moving along a slot (it, comes intocontact with the adjustable stop 94: which positions the plate properlyon the horse. The operator now lifts the handle 95 and therebydisengages the end of the pawl 99 from the arm 98 of the starting leverwhich permits the pawl to engage in one of the notches of the gear 101.This starts the horse rotating and starts the finishing operation. Theparts start to rotate in the position shown in Fig. 8 and move in thedirection of the arrow so that the cam 82 immediately allows the stop 83to move into the position shown in Fig: 9, the spring actuating it inthis direction. At this time the fingers T6 are located under thefollowing edge of the plate so as to carry the plate around with hen theplate movesaround to the position'shown in Fig. 9, the cam 81 comes intooperation to release the fingers 76 from the plate and leavethe plate inthe bed 71 with its forward edge up against the stop 83. The rightangled extension of the slot 64L is provided to allow the projection 69to pass out. A half rotation of the 1 horse is now completed and it nowtarts on the second half rotation when the fingers 76 are kept,retracted by the cam 81. It will be seen therefore that the first halfrotation is for placing the plate in the bed while the second halfrotation is for the purpose of finishing the'plate. which isaccomplished by the operation of the knife 74 on the internal ribs andthe planetary saw 8+2 trimming off theedge. The brush 75 moving drawn.

with the shaft follows the knife 74.- and brushes out the interior ofthe plate after it has been shaved. During the cutting of the-tail offby means of the saw 8 the extension 85 supports the tail or riser. Atthe commencement of the fourth half revo lution of the horse the fingers76 again protrude controlled by the cam 81 but operated by the springand the stop 83 is with- Continued rotation of the horse thereaftermoves the plate from the bed and at the end of the second completerevolution the plate is left on the horse in its initial position. Therotation ofthe horse is stopped at this point by the hook 96 comingaround at this time into a notch in the cam 9? which actuates the lever95 and allows the pawl 99 to be disconnected from its ratchet wheel1.01, and also locks the parts in this position.

The plate having been operated upon to be finished and cleaned out asstated, it is lifted by the manually operating transfer means controlledby the handle 11 and swung over to the position shown in full lines inFig. 5 and through this position into contact with the support 121. Thistime it enga es the valve stem 122 and opens the valve to turn on thecooling water.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, I amaware of the fact that many modifications can be madetherein by any person. skilled in the art without departing from thescope of the invention as expressed in the claims. 1

Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to all the details'ofconstruction herein'shown and described, but what I do claim is:

1. In a stereotype finishing apparatus, the combination of means adaptedto deliver the plate in a horizontal position, a horse to support theplate in alinement therewith, means to position said plate on the horse,and means in operative relation with the horse for finishing-the plate.

2. In a stereotype finishing apparatus,the combination of means, adaptedtodeliver the plate in a horizontal position, a horse to support theplate in alinement therewith, means for performing finishing operationson the plate while on the horse, and a bed underneath the horse;

3. In a stereotype finishing apparatus,the combination of means adaptedto deliver the plate in a horizontalposition, a horse to support theplate in alinement therewith, means to position said plate on the horse.and a bed underneath the horse :upon which the plate may be depositedfrom the horse for finishing.

l. In a stereotype finishing apparatus, the

' combination of a horse to support the plate,

means to rotate the horse, a bed underneath the horse, means along oneedge of the horse to engage'the edge of the plate, means along one edgeof the bed to check the plate, and means to withdraw the first namedmeans from operation and throw the second named means into operationwhen the plate has reached its proper position upon the bed.

5. In a stereotype finishing apparatus,the

combination of a rotatable horse to hold the plate, a bed underneath thehorse, finishing means for the plate, and means operating to deliver theplate from the horse to the bed during the first half revolution of thehorse, means to bring the finishing means into operation during thesecond half revolution of the horse, and means to deliver the plateagain upon the horse during the second complete revolution of the horse.6. In a stereotype finishing apparatus,the combination of a rotatablehorse, a station ary bed beneath the horse, finishing mechanism mountedto revolve with the horse, means operating with the horse to deliver theplate from the horse to the bed, finish the plate and deliver it uponthe horse again during two revolutions of the horse, and means to checkthe horse after it has made two revolutions.

7. In a stereotype apparatus for finishing a plate with a groovetherein, the combination of a bed in which the plate is finished and arevolving member adapted to travel in said groove to hold the plate inposition while it is being finished.

8. In an apparatus for finishing a plate with a groove therein, thecombination of a bed, a rotating horse to deliver the plate to and fromsaid bed, and a member adapter to revolve with said horse and to travelin said. groove to hold the plate in position.

9. In a stereotype apparatus,the combination with means for cutting offthe riser portion of the plate, and a movable support for the riserportion during the cutting.

10. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination of a bed to hold theplate during the finishing, a cutter movable across the plate to severthe riser portion thereof, and a sup port for the riser portion movablewith the cutter.

11. In stereotype apparatus, the combination of a bed to hold the plateduring finishing, a rotatable horse to deliver the plate to and from thebed, a segment projeeting from one end of the horse and forming asupport for the riser portion of the plate during finishing, and acutter carried by the segment to sever the riser portion.

12. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination of a rotatable horse toreceive the plate, a shaft for the horse, reduction gearing on one endof the shaft, a cam on the other end of the shaft, a bed for the. plateunderneath the horse, and operative connee tions between the horse andcam whereby the plate may be delivered to and from the bed by the horse.

13. In a stereotype apparatus, the com-' bination with a bed forreceiving a plate, of a shaving knife rotatable above the bed, and arotating brush for cleaning out the plate.

14. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination with a bed for receivinga plate, of a shaving knife rotatable above the bed, a brush rotatablein the rear of the shaving knife to sweep out the plate, and means tointroduce a plate into the bed.

15. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination of a rotatable horse tohold the late after casting, of a bed underneath the horse to receivethe plate for finishing, finishing means for the plate, means forbrushing the plate, and means to deliver the plate from the horse to thebed.

16. In a device of the character described, the combination with afinishing means comprising a horse for supporting the plate, of amanually operated mechanism for engaging the top end edges of the plateand moving the plate to one side of the horse.

17. In a device of the character described, the combination with afinishing means comprising a horse for supporting the plate, of aswinging frame having depending spring fingers for engaging the plate,and a crank arm for keeping said fingers in vertical position, wherebythe plate can be moved from the horse.

18. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination of a horse to support afinished plate, cooling means beside the horse, a swinging frame havingdepending spring fingers, the horse having means into which said fingersmay be inserted to lift the plate by its ends, and the cooling meanshaving a support for the plate slightly longer than the plate in orderto separate the fingers and release the plate when it has been deliveredthereto.

19. In a stereotype apparatus, the com bination with means to hold aplate station ary while shaving the back, and means to shave the back,of means for cleaning out the plate .in a dry condition.

20. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination of a horse to support afinished plate, a swinging frame having depending spring fingers, thehorse having means into which said fingers may be inserted to lift theplate by its ends, and a support for the plate slightly longer than theplate in order to separate the fingers and release the plate when it hasbeen delivered thereto.

21. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination with cooling means forthe plate, of a manually operated frame for transfer-- ring plate to thecooling means.

22. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination With cooling means forthe plate, of a swinging frame having depending spring fingers adaptedto engage the ends 5 of the plate.

23. In a stereotype apparatus, the combination With cooling means forthe plate,

of a swinging frame having depending spring fingers and a crank arm tokeep said CHARLES EDWARD HOPKINS.

